When: July 2008
Partners: DB, Ram and Aaron Ramras
Route: Unnamed on North Face (Class 4-5)
Mileage/Gain: 11/3,500
Always glad to join up with Ram and his son Little Ram, DB and I were excited to embark on another adventure that Ram promised to be "classic." Having shown us an obscure and stunning route he'd pieced together a decade and a half earlier on Zion National Park's North Guardian Angel only 2.5 weeks earlier, we knew we'd be in for a good time. This time we were headed for Hallett Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park!
With an absurdly early start to avoid the expected and typical afternoon thunderstorms summer Colorado is so famous for, we found ourselves leaving the trail and slogging across talus to a snowfield as the first light of morning graced the horizon.
Reaching for our ice axes, we gained the snow and headed up the drainage to the toe of the Tyndall Glacier...and there, our eyes beheld the route!
The route was stunning. Perhaps 1,000-1,500 vertical feet of semi-sustained class 3 & 4 scrambling, with the occasional class 5 move thrown in to keep one on his toes! "Let's go!" So Little Ram led up...
Ram wasn't lying. This route, which he'd found some 15 years earlier, was indeed "classic." Steep, sustained, fun, and on mostly good rock, it was highly memorable. And for added glee, it dumped us off within steps of the summit and its stunning views!
Spending quite a few minutes enjoying the warmth and views on the top of Hallett, Ram suggested we head down the easy backside of the peak and traverse past Otis Peak, ultimately aiming for a descent down the Andrews Glacier. Let's do it!
But along the way, Aaron and I decided to bypass off to Otis Peak for a little bonus action. While only a minor peak, the view over to a nearby feature called The Sharkstooth was awesome. Ram had climbed the thing some years earlier and described it as something like "the scariest 5.6 route I've ever done."
After Otis, we dropped down to the head of the Andrews Glacier to meet up with Ram and DB. There, we not only found the two, but also a NPS sign that said something about caution and crevasses and other absurdities regarding this tiny, benevolent "glacier." And so we headed down...
Near the toe of the glacier, Ram enjoyed a short glissade to the lake at the base of the snow. Once there, he and his son enjoyed a dip in the frigid waters of Andrews Tarn.
Eventually beginning our descent back to the civilized world, DB and I soon stumbled across something neither of us had ever seen or even thought to exist...
How awful. But we worked through it and continued on.
TOPO
A Classic Route on Hallett Peak, and Otis Peak (as a Bonus)
Screwing Around in Rocky Mountain National Park
Headed up to meet Ram and Little Ram in Fort Collins, Colorado, DB and I passed through Rocky Mountain National Park one day. It was a first visit for both of us. Soon after entering the park on its west side, we spotted a large elk grazing right next to the road!
Enjoying the grand views as we passed through the park, we eventually exited in Estes Park and made our way to Lumpy Ridge, an interesting collection of granite boulders that hosted a large assortment of climbing and scrambling routes. Time to play...!
Picking a nearby crag, we enjoyed some funky class 2 & 3 scrambling to the highpoint, which required an exposed, dyno step-across move to attain.
From the top of the crag, I spotted a steep and impressive crag nearby that had a vertical chimney rising to the summit from near its base. I'd better give it a go!
What I found was a fun and strenuous (5.7ish) route, soloable with care, that, sure enough, dumped me off right at the summit.
As good things must come to an end (to make room for other good things), it was soon time to get outta there...and head to Ram's place in Fort Collins!
